Students at Youth's Benefit Elementary School in Fallston received a big surprise Thursday morning when they learned their school was the grand prize winner of $25,000 in the Scott Shared Values Box Tops for Education Sweepstakes.

Scott Brand and General Mills, two companies that have made supporting education a key element of their businesses, announced the prize during a special assembly at the school. Youth's Benefit will be awarded 250,000 eBoxTops valued at $25,000 to be used toward educational needs.

"As principal of Youth's Benefit Elementary School, I was absolutely thrilled when I found out that we won the Scott Shared Values sweepstakes and would receive $25,000 for our school," YBES Principal Thomas Smith said in a news release from Scott Brand. "As one of the largest public elementary schools in the state, this money is appreciated, and we look forward to using the donation to advance technology within our classrooms."

In addition to awarding Youth's Benefit with the eBoxTops award, Scott brand will be contributing to the school's Green Gator initiative by donating Scott Naturals paper towels, which contain a blend of recycled and virgin fibers, to each classroom in support of their effort toward being a more eco-friendly school.

Scott brand, a unit of Kimberly-Clark, launched the national sweepstakes last November on Scottbrand.com to celebrate its partnership with Box Tops for Education, a fundraising program that helps schools with kindergarten through eighth grade earn cash by clipping box tops coupons from participating brands.

According to the company news release, "those who signed up for the Scott Shared Values, a program that provides savvy consumers with exclusive access to exciting deals and rewards, were able to make a difference for their school by earning five eBoxTops and entering their school into the sweeps."

"Scott brand is committed to helping schools make ends meet by providing parents with effective tools to raise funds for their children's classrooms," said Ben Johnson, Scott Brand manager, who was on hand in Fallston Thursday to present the award.

"The Scott Shared Values sweepstakes gave thousands of schools across the country the opportunity to benefit from the Box Tops for Education program, but schools can benefit from Box Tops every day, simply by clipping the coupons from the participating products that they already buy such as Scott brand products," Johnson said in the news release.

According to the company, the Scott brand has donated more than $3 million to schools nationwide and is the only product in its category to offer Box Tops coupons, including on Scott paper towels. To learn more about the Scott Shared Values program, visit Scottbrand.com.

Kimberly-Clark and its well-known global brands are available in more than 175 countries and include Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex and Depend.

America's schools have earned more than $525 million through all Box Tops for Education earnings programs since the program started in 1996, including $47 million since March 2012. More than 90,000 schools use that cash to purchase items such as computers, library books, art supplies and playground equipment. Schools can earn up to $20,000 by clipping Box Tops coupons from 240 products and can earn eBoxTops by shopping online through the Box Tops Marketplace. To learn more and for a list of participating products, visit http://www.btfe.com.